XF 2.1 Am I the only one confused about notification preferences?

[Mr Lucky]

Today (for no reason I could tell) I received a push notification for this post

(I also got an email notification and alert which is what I would expect as I have posted in that thread and I have these preferences which make total sense to me)

So I checked push notifications and this is how it was set as below - and these settings I found very confusing.



On fist glance I assume from the big blue button that push notifications are not enabled (otherwise it was say "disable push notifications") and I won't get any pushes.

But the list below the button (ie Receive a notification when someone...) shows everything as ticked, both alert and push.

I did not tick any of those so I presume that is a default, but my confusion is this:

Do those push ticks override the big blue button? (I would expect the button to override all those ticks - but then why did I get that push notification this morning???)
If ticked by default and they override the blue button why is the push notification I just got the first one I have had from this forum?

Looking at that I am now also confused about the Content options at the top. If they are set like this:





Then I presume I will get alerts but not emails, is that correct?

But then why do we have the extra set of ticks for alerts here:


Is there a conflict here, this implies I will get alerts and emails:



But what happens if alerts are not ticked?


My apologies if it's just me being a bit thick but I really am very confused.

It would make sense to me if everything was in the same place, ie in that list Receive a notification when someone.... so the above list had three sets of tickboxes for 1 Alert 2 Push 3 Email

And why are conversation notifications not in that list, instead they are in the box above, but spread out in different places:

 

[Chris D]

On fist glance I assume from the big blue button that push notifications are not enabled (otherwise it was say "disable push notifications") and I won't get any pushes.

But the list below the button (ie Receive a notification when someone...) shows everything as ticked, both alert and push.

I did not tick any of those so I presume that is a default, but my confusion is this:

Do those push ticks override the big blue button? (I would expect the button to override all those ticks - but then why did I get that push notification this morning???)
If ticked by default and they override the blue button why is the push notification I just got the first one I have had from this forum?

You do not have push notifications enabled here. I have checked that via the database. If you did have push notifications enabled here, it would have been something you had enabled yourself in the past, knowingly, and you certainly would have received many push notifications (you would have gotten one every time you received a forum alert).

Those settings are the defaults.

No, they cannot override whether you have push notifications enabled or not. They are only relevant IF you have push notifications enabled.

My only theory is that whatever you saw wasn't actually a push notification from this forum. If you never enabled them then it's just not technically possible.

Looking at that I am now also confused about the Content options at the top. If they are set like this:

Then I presume I will get alerts but not emails, is that correct?

These settings relate to automatic thread watching. If they are all ticked then you will automatically watch a thread that you create or reply to and receive alerts and emails. If they are as they are pictured above, you will automatically watch a thread you create or reply to but only receive alerts and not emails. If you untick them all you will not automatically watch any threads going forward.

These settings apply to new threads you create/interact with going forward.

But then why do we have the extra set of ticks for alerts here:

Is there a conflict here, this implies I will get alerts and emails:

But what happens if alerts are not ticked?

My apologies if it's just me being a bit thick but I really am very confused.

To reiterate the "Content options" simply control whether you will automatically watch a thread or not going forward, and if you do whether you would want to receive emails as well.

If you untick the alert preferences then you will still be watching the threads (they'll still appear on the "Watched threads" page), and you will still receive email notifications for watching the thread, but you will no longer receive alerts.

And why are conversation notifications not in that list, instead they are in the box above, but spread out in different places:

Alerts and push notifications are essentially the same system. They're intrinsically linked under the hood. That's why you can granularly opt-out of receiving certain types.

Conversations do not generate "Alerts" in the traditional sense of the word (they do not appear under the bell icon in the header) so they have a separate setting for email notifications which makes sense to be with other email options, and we have a special case set up for push notifications and conversations therefore it makes sense to display that along with other push notification options.

 

[Mr Lucky]

Thanks Chris, yes I was aware that the content options are purely fin regard to automatic watching. I just thought it would look more consistent and simpler for users if everything was in the bottom list with the set of tickboxes. And I understand now (thanks) that the alerts/push is based on the same system so more granular options. But you could still have a list that had email tickbox where relevant.

Maybe that should be a suggestion and I might see nobody but me wants it or else it is impossible to instigate anyway

My only theory is that whatever you saw wasn't actually a push notification from this forum.

It was definitely a push notification from this forum, for the post in the watched thread I linked to in my message above.

Do you know if there is a history for push notifications anywhere in Firefox?

 

[Chris D]

It was definitely a push notification from this forum, for the post in the watched thread I linked to in my message above.

Both Windows 10 and macOS have a notification center type thing. It's a button in the bottom right corner/system tray on Windows 10 and it's a button in the top right corner in macOS. That's where notifications from Firefox would appear in either OS.

But if what you have said so far is correct; that you have never enabled push notifications and that is the only push notification you've ever received on this forum (despite receiving, no doubt, many normal alerts, I'm sure) then you're mistaken.

We literally cannot send you a push notification unless you have physically enabled it in your Preferences and usually there would be a second step involved to tell Firefox that we're allowed to send you push notifications.

If none of that is familiar, we cannot have sent you a push notification today.

 

[Mr Lucky]

Both Windows 10 and macOS have a notification center type thing.

Ah yes found that. Nothing.

But I just realised it may have been a mac Mail notification. I am normally on the iPhone so don't often sit at the desktop to notice those (and when I do I'm usually working on something that means I don't see them.

So no mystery now!